


The Start of Something New

by ThisWasBetterInMyHead



Series: High School is Hard Enough [1]
Category: Lego Ninjago, The LEGO Ninjago Movie (2017)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Child Neglect, Childhood Trauma, False Accusations, Found Family, Gen, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Police Brutality, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-09
Updated: 2021-01-09
Packaged: 2021-03-18 10:55:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,540
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28616919
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThisWasBetterInMyHead/pseuds/ThisWasBetterInMyHead
Summary: Cole didn’t expect much from his first day of his sophomore year at Ninjago High School. He especially didn’t expect to help create one of the most chaotic friend groups before the end of the week.
Relationships: Cole/Zane (Ninjago), Ed Walker/Edna Walker
Series: High School is Hard Enough [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2096940
Comments: 2
Kudos: 31





	The Start of Something New

**Author's Note:**

> In case it wasn’t clear from the poorly written summary, this is a Cole centric story about how he unintentionally helped to create one of the most chaotic friend groups in Ninjago City. This will be cross posted on my Tumblr dummydamimedia

“Kai you asshole!”

Cole rolled his eyes, spitting out his toothpaste. Stepping out of his room, he wandered into Kai’s room. Nya stood at the door of the connected bathroom, screaming at her brother within. 

“What’s going on?”  
“He stole my brush! We have to leave in less than twenty minutes and he hasn’t made any sign of giving it back.”

Cole sighed, motioning Nya out of the room. She glared at the door one last time before following him. He led her back to his room grabbing a brush with a flame design on the handle. “I _was_ going to give this to Kai but it looks like you need it more.”

Nya grinned at him, thanking him before running off to her room to finish getting ready. Cole chuckled, walking back into his bathroom. He pulled his hoodie off and grabbing his shirt for the day off the counter. Turning in the mirror, he checked the ripped off sleeves to make sure they hadn’t frayed before studying his jewelry tree. He picked up the extensive collection of bracelets from said tree and expertly split it in half. He pulled a tighter bracelet onto each wrist before adding the looser bracelets. After fastening on a tighter skull bracelet to each wrist, Cole shook his wrists to ensure that they wouldn’t move. He then grabbed a stud earring from a pack that Nya gave him and a hanging St. Peter’s cross one from Kai and put them on. He then shook out his dreadlocks, moisturizing his scalp before moving his attention to the individual locs. The task was finished with practiced ease and he decided that there was time to add eyeliner to his look. After a couple failed attempts, he got small wings that looked similar enough. He was about to about to leave the bathroom before he glanced back at the tree. He grabbed a random necklace off of it, throwing it on as he walked out into the main part of the house. 

Nya looked up from her waffles when he walked in. “Almost a full a morning routine in about...” she looked at the clock on the microwave. “Fifteen minutes!”

“‘Almost?’” Cole asked, following her hand as it gestured to his lower half. He eyes widened as he shot her an embarrassed look. “Yeah I guess the Golden Girls don’t need to make an appearance today.” 

Nya laughed at his retreating form. “Maybe for pajama day!” 

“Or finals week,” Kai added as he waltzed into the room. 

Nya glared at him before shoving his plate towards him. Kai was halfway through a waffle when loud thuds sounded against the hardwood. When Cole rounded the corner, he was wearing one of his pairs of Doc Martins, ripped jeans with chains, and a simple ear cuff. He held his Jean vest over his shoulder as he made his way to the table. Kai rolled his eyes. “I swear that vest will singlehandedly start a dress code at school.”

Cole could only glare at him, having already started on his waffles. Within a couple minutes he had torn through his food, startling Kai, who was just starting on his third waffle. Cole was halfway through making himself and Nya iced coffees with there was a knock at the door. He let Nya take over the drinks as he went to answer the door. His eyes eyes lit up when he saw the blond on the porch. “Lloyd! Come on in,” he pulled him into the house with a knowing look. “Want a coffee?”

“Gods yes,” he sighed. “How’d you know?” 

“Well let’s see,” he pondered, counting his points on his fingers. “Your dad is out of town for a wedding shoot today, you aren’t allowed to stay home alone after that party you threw last time, Wu lives in town, and Wu doesn’t have coffee anywhere in his house.”

Nya walked up with two cups and handed them to the boys. “If we want to be on time, we have to go now.”

Kai walked in as Nya dashed out of the room, throwing Cole his bag. “Freshmen.”

“Freshmen,” Cole agreed.  
“Hey!”

The two chuckled as Nya ran back into the room. “Let’s go!”

——————————————————————————

The sophomores listened to the excited freshman prattle about one thing or another for the entire walk to the school. Lloyd turned to look back at them. “Oh yeah. I have a friend that I made a while back. He’s my age but he’s in your grade,” he gestured with his hands. “Crazy reddish brown hair, blue eyes, freckles, oh and he has this notch in his eyebrow-“

“Lloyd chill out,” Cole chuckled. “I think we had gym with him right Kai?”  
“Yeah, he was with us for the ten fastest sprinters.” Lloyd nodded. “I’m gonna invite him to the dojo after school. You should come!”

The sophomores nodded as the group entered the building. He led Lloyd to his own locker, his and Kai’s lockers, and his first period class. “See you around,” he chuckled, nudging him into the room. 

His boots echoed as he sprinting to his homeroom class, proud to have reached it before the first bell. He walked into class, finding his name on the board and taking the corresponding seat in the back of the room. He ignored the stares and whispering and surveyed his class. His eyes were automatically attracted to the tallest student in the class. His sweatshirt was a bright white and went well with his pale blue jeans. He had hair that almost matched his sweatshirt and Cole was surprised by his uptight posture. Cole couldn’t help but snicker at the fact that he was sat right in the front of the room. He had to muffle a laugh when the teacher did a double take, obviously not having expected him to be that tall. She looked around the room before pointing towards him and talking to the tall kid. All eyes turned to the him when he stood up, because while he looked tall sitting down, it was nothing compared to how tall he looked standing up. He watched as the kid walked towards him, then sat at the desk to his right. 

Upon closer inspection, Cole could see the look of discomfort and the way he shifted in his chair. Taking pity on him, he whispered “Hey-” only to realize he didn’t know his name. He looked to the board for help but found it had been erased. However, Cole was determined and ran his eyes over the student, looking for a defining feature. “Hey, Bright Eyes.”

The teen looked startled but turned towards him. Cole grinned in victory. “It’s okay to relax your posture a bit. They don’t mind much here.” He grinned as “Bright Eyes” relaxed his shoulders, allowing himself to sink a little into his seat. Putting one hand behind his head, he offered him the other. “I’m Cole.” The other shook his hand as the first period bell rang. “I’m Zane.”

——————————————————————————

Kai shook a slice of pizza in Cole’s face as the two argued over chores. Of course they weren’t actually angry but it was still a decent argument. When the pizza was barely an inch from his face, Cole lunged forward and grabbed the slice between his teeth. Kai shrieked, dropping the slice and allowing Cole to pull back with the prize. Kai glared at Cole until he passed Kai his untouched slice. Right as Cole finished inhaling his slice, a loud thud drew the attention of the cafeteria. Kai walked into the crowd, missing the way Cole discreetly removed his boots. As he pushed his way into the crowd, he caught sight of a mass of white on the ground. Zane was holding his left eye, slightly curled into himself. The school’s worst bully, “Samukai” stood over him, holding a carton at a dangerous angle. “He says he didn’t see me,” he cackled. “Lookee here. I’ll give you one last chance to apologize.”

“I-I truly am sorry,” Zane stuttered, sitting up. “I never ment to run into you; it was an accident.”

Samukai nodded his head for a moment before emptying the carton over Zane’s head and shoving him back down. Cole saw red and stormed over. “And what the fuck do you think you’re doing _Michael_ ,” he growled, spinning him around and getting in his face. “I thought we had a talk last year about bullying.”

Samukai’s face dropped when he met Cole’s eyes. Hazel bore into red-tinted brown as he tried to form a response. He never had a chance to, as his right hand man “Kruncha” pointed at Cole’s feet. “Don’t,” he warned. “No shoes. He’s not kidding around.”

The crowd moved back at the statement, and with them, Samukai and Kruncha. Cole was about to demand they give an apology when they turned tail and ran. Shaking his head, he turned to Zane, finally seeing the damage. Strawberry milk. On white clothes. Cole was seething, but he tried to calm down for Zane’s sake. “Hey, Zane,” he prompted, squatting to his level but getting no reaction. “Hey, Bright Eyes.”

Zane looked up with tear filled eyes and his heart broke. A loud thud sounded, startling them both. Kai cringed as he squatted on Zane’s other side. “Sorry. I forget how loud those boots are sometimes.”

Cole moved to grab his footwear and quickly got them on. He then helped Zane up leading him into the bathroom. Luckily, there was no one in there and Kai was able to lock the door. Cole led Zane over to the sinks prompting him to rinse his hair. Zane stood there for a minute, rinsing out his hair as Kai nodded and put his phone away. Cole didn’t bother asking, as Zane had finished with his hair. “I do not have a towel,” he mumbled. 

“I’ve got you,” Cole replied, pulling on the corner of the towel in his back pocket. Kai coughed and Cole sent him a glare. 

“Thank you.”  
“No prob-” The rest of the word died in his throat. 

His towel sat around Zane’s shoulders revealing a mess of platinum blond curls. Zane frowned at his reflection, running his fingers through his hair. “I prefer to have it slicked back at the very least.”

“Kai’s probably got some gel in his bag-“ Cole froze. “Shit our bags!”

A knock sounded on the outside of the door, before drawing a messy deathly hallows. Kai unlocked and opened the door, revealing a shorter student. Cole automatically guessed who he was from his reddish brown hair, blue eyes, and freckles. The teen chuckled offering up the three backpacks in his arms. “Thanks Jay,” Kai sighed, letting him in. “Bags match the color schemes.” 

Jay handed him his bag then handed Cole his. He paused in surprise when he saw Zane. Zane looked over with a soft smile. “Hello Jay.”

“What happened?”  
“Bullies. You know how it is for us ‘nerds’.”  
“Yeah. What’re you gonna do about your shirt?”

Zane pulled off his sweatshirt to reveal a stained t-shirt. The torso was mostly pink, going down past his chest but, surprisingly, his sleeves were spared. He groaned. “I do not spare clothes at the moment.”

Cole unbuttoned his jacket. “Here, try this on.”

Zane tugged on the jacket. It was slightly short on him, with the few inch difference in their hight, but it fit him well otherwise and covered the stain. Cole nodded. The bell rang and no one moved. 

“I have a free period.”  
“Me too.”  
“Me three.”  
“Oh I do too!”

Kai’s head snapped up. “I thought you had a free period last period?”

Jay blushed. “I finished my work early and the teacher wasn’t prepared for it. It was pretty much a free period.” 

“Lloyd and Nya have a free period too,” Cole reported, putting his phone back in his pocket. “They wanna meet up at the library. You guys wanna come with?” 

“Sure.”  
“Yes!”  
“Guess that settles that. Let’s go.”

——————————————————————————

“Lloyd!”  
“Jay!”

The two teens embraced, causing Cole to roll his eyes and open his mouth to comment. 

“You two are lucky we were not already in the library. Your loud mouths would have already gotten us kicked out.”

Cole looked at Zane in shock. The playful reprimand seemed to do the trick, as instantly the friends quieted down. Kai led them in, moving them over to their favorite corner. Nobody else liked it because of the hole in the wall; it let a draft in and dirt would often blow in. Kai sat on one side of the hole with Cole on the other. Lloyd sat by Cole with Jay next to him. Zane stayed by Jay while Nya sat with her brother. She ran her gaze over Zane, unnerving him. “If you don’t mind me asking,” she started, taking in the entirety of Zane’s appearance, “what happened to you?”

He chuckled nervously. “I bumped into someone, a bully to be exact. He, um, punched me in the face and poured milk over my sweatshirt.”

“Oh no! Is it still wet?”  
“Yes, he was quite _generous_ with his pour.”  
“I would guess so. Give it here.”

Confused, Zane handed over his sweatshirt, watching as Nya read over the vials attached to her belt. “Honey, pepper extract, aha,” she pulled a vial of deep blue liquid. “Laundry detergent!”

She pulled a water bottle and an empty Tupperware from her bag. She poured the water in before adding the detergent. Nya submerged the pink of the cloth in the mixture and held it there for a few minutes. Zane was interested, as the water within the Tupperware was moving on its own. She slowly pulled the cloth out, revealing it to be perfectly white. Kai held his hands out for it, having done this with her on multiple occasions. Nya closed her eyes, making a smooth pushing and pulling movement. Zane watched in shock as the water floated from his clothes into the air, the remaining sudsy water joining it moments later. Opening her eyes, Nya carefully moved the water out of the hole in the wall before letting it drop. Zane and Jay were astonished, Jay all but bouncing in his seat. “Oh my god. You’re an elemental too?”

Lloyd turned around in shock. “‘Too?’ I’ve known you for like, what, a year and you never told me?”

Jay shrugged. “It didn’t seem important. I can barely control it as is anyway.”

Kai smirked. “You should let Cole teach you.” Cole sputtered in shock. “He taught Nya and I how to use ours.” He continued, lighting the tip of his pinky on fire. 

Jay jumped. “The fire alarm-”  
“It’s broken.”  
“What?”  
“The smoke detector back here is broken. That’s why we chose this corner.”  
“Oh. Well how about you Lloyd?”

Lloyd leaned forward, placing his elbows on his knees. “Hi, my name is Lloyd-”  
“This is a casual discussion not AA.”  
“Shuddup Kai. Anyway, I’m Lloyd and I control energy.”  
“That’s so cool! I control electricity!”  
“Really? No way!”  
“Quiet down you two! You’re gonna get us kicked out.”  
“Sorry Cole-”  
“Sorry _Dad_.”  
“Lloyd Montgomery Garmadon, I will not hesitate to take away your X-box privileges.”  
Kai snorted but withered under Cole’s glare.

“If you do not mind me asking,” Zane interrupted. “Do you have an elemental ability Cole? If so, what element would require you to remove your footwear?”

Nya let out a low whistle. “He took his boots off? Must’ve been a high class bully then.”

“Yeah, Samukai and Kruncha,” Cole nodded. “I’m an earth elemental. I find that less barriers between the ground and I, the stronger I am.” 

Zane nodded thoughtfully, before pointing to his sweatshirt. “Can I have that back now?”  
“Sure, but I wouldn’t recommend wearing it. I don’t carry fabric softener so it’s not gonna be comfortable.”  
“That is quite alright. I have to return Cole’s vest anyway-”  
“You can borrow it.”

All eyes landed on Cole, who seemed pretty interested in his painted nails. “Ya just gotta give it back soon, okay?”

Zane paused with his hands on the third button. “If you are certain.”

Jay looked back and forth between the two before barking out a laugh. “Look at their necklaces!”

Cole looked down at his. It was simple, a chain with a lock. Then he looked at Zane’s; a chain with a key. He couldn’t help his own snicker before he calmed down. “Is that homemade? I’ve never seen one like that in stores.”

Zane nodded, the same soft smile from earlier making a reappearance. “Yes. My younger sibling gave this to me. They said that I’m the trustworthy brother, therefore I got the spare key to their jewelry locker and diaries,” He shrugged. “Not like I put them to use at all.” 

“Awww. That’s so cute!”  
“Nya, didn’t you do a similar thing with Cole?”  
“Did I?”  
“Yeah, you said something like ‘we don’t need to keep secrets and Cole will know when to keep a secret’ blah blah blah.”  
“Shut it, prick.”  
“Wait!”

Everyone turned to Jay, who was bouncing in his seat. “What if they’re the same kind of lock and key? That would be insane!”

Cole took off the chain to study it closer. It did look both small and cheap now that he scrutinized it. He offered it to Zane, who inserted the key and successfully unlocked it. A stunned silence stretched before the teens were talking again, having lost interest in the necklaces. “Oh! Before I forget again,” Zane started, reaching into his back pocket. “Here is your towel back.”

Kai snickered as Cole took back the towel. “Right pocket-”  
“Shut the fuck up,” he growled, face burning. 

Sensing the tension Lloyd jumped into action, covering Jay’s ears. “Guys! You can’t curse in front of a baby!”

Jay groaned, batting Lloyd’s hands away. “That joke is _so_ old. You’re the worst.”

“What does he mean by ‘baby’,” Nya asked, dissolving the tension between her brother and housemate. 

“He’s a leap day baby,” Lloyd explained as he pulled Jay into his side. 

“I’m not a baby,” Jay whined.

Cole raised an eyebrow. “That has the exact opposite effect of what you are trying to prove.”

Before Jay could answer, the bell rang. The students grabbed their things, moving to leave for their next class. As Cole was leaving his seat, he felt something under the table; a pale blue, almost white journal. Already having an inkling on who it belonged to, he flipped to check the inside cover. 𝙿𝚛𝚘𝚙𝚎𝚛𝚝𝚢 𝚘𝚏 𝚉𝚊𝚗𝚎 𝙹𝚞𝚕𝚒𝚎𝚗. 𝙸𝚏 𝚏𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚍, 𝚙𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚜𝚎 𝚛𝚎𝚝𝚞𝚛𝚗 𝚝𝚘... Cole closed the book. If he didn’t see Zane for the rest of the day, he’d deliver it to his house. With that plan in mind, he walked to his next class. 

——————————————————————————

The bell rang once again, signaling the end of the school day. Cole walked to his locker only to find the group (minus Zane) already waiting at his locker. He rolled his eyes and grabbed his books, sensing someone looking at him. He untucked his shirt and pulled it over his pockets, reveling in the sound of Kai’s frustration. “Leave it be. It just means he’s a cuddler.”

Cole could have broken the sound barrier with how fast he stood up. Unfortunately, the only thing he broke was a shelf in his locker. Rubbing his head, he shut his locker. “Since when do you speak hankie, Nya?” He asked, suddenly aware of the multitude of colorful hair ties on her left wrist. 

Nya winked and turned on her heal, leaving the stunned group to follow her. Cole was quick to follow, matching the color to the chart he found online. “...Shit Nya,” he sighed. “How did it come to this?”

“Kai and I used to go to a catholic school before middle school. It was bound to happen.”  
“Ah. Must be a private school thing then.”

The two continued a conversation as Lloyd led a pale Kai out of the building. He had a feeling that they would be having a very... interesting conversation when they get home. 

——————————————————————————

Zane kept his head down, hoping no one would notice his return. No such luck. “Zane,” his eldest brother, Cain, cheered. He had come home from college for the week in hopes of spending quality time with his siblings. What he wasn’t prepared for was his youngest brother coming through the door looking disheveled with a black eye. He dashed over, one cupping his cheek while the other inspected the bruise. “What happened?”

Zane chose to forgo an answer in favor of burying his face in his brother’s collarbone. Cain held his brother upright as sobs racked his body. Never did he hate his father’s emotional absence more than he did then. When he calmed down some, the older led the younger upstairs. He opened the door to the twins’ room alerting their brother of their presence. The brunet smirked. “Public school must have been hard huh?”

His smile dropped when Zane looked up. “Holy shit. What happened? Are you okay?”  
“Echo, give him some space. He’s had a rough day.”

The elder twin fell silent, watching his younger brother sink into his bed. Cain watched sadly, shaking his head. “I’ll handle dinner tonight. Don’t worry about it.”

The two frowned at the lack of response. Echo turned to his elder brother with mischief in his eyes. “Alright. Just make sure you don’t poison us this time, Juggy.”

Zane snorted as Cain scoffed. “That was one time! And that was like eight years ago!”  
“That would still have made you twelve. You should’ve been able to make boxed macaroni and cheese.”  
“Glad you’re feeling better enough to pick on your dear brother,” Cain scoffed, pointing at Echo. “And it’s Juggernaut. My nickname doesn’t need a nickname.”

The twins laughed at their brother’s retreating back. Echo threw himself onto his bed, staring at Zane. “So,” he pushed. “Whose is that?”

“Whose is what?”  
“The vest.”  
“What v-” Zane shot up off of his bed, running to his closet. “Shit. I forgot to find Cole!”  
“Cole, huh?”  
“Not the time, E.”  
“Have you started using contractions around them? Oh, how about nicknames? Have you got one yet?”  
“ _Echo,_ ” Zane groaned, pulling out his full length mirror. “Look, he only gave it to me because I got my shirt stained, okay? Nothing else.”

“So it’s a _he_ ,” Echo teased. “And he’s the ‘nice bad boy’ type? Right up your alley.”

Zane went red. “Shut up. Besides, I don’t even know if he swings that way.”  
“Left breast pocket says otherwise.”  
“Left breast pocket?”

Zane stood in front of the mirror, staring at his reflection. Cole’s vest was covered in patches, mostly sticking to a color scheme of black, white and red. However, Zane payed them no attention to them entranced by the splash of color on the left breast pocket. A rainbow patch sat proudly over his heart. 

——————————————————————————

“Yeah, dubstep definitely works best for electric.”  
“Really? Thanks! I can’t believe you teach people to control their elements through _dancing_.”  
“What can I say? Dancing brings out something in everyone. Do you have an artist that speaks to you?”  
“No. Should I?”  
“Everyone has a certain artist that speaks to them! Kai works best to AJR, Nya works best to Paramore, and Lloyd works best to One Direction!”  
“I do _not_!”

Cole snickered, showing Jay the screen of his laptop. His eyes drifted from the paused Shrillex song at the bottom over to where Cole’s finger was pointing. Sure enough, Lloyd was playing a One Direction song. Jay giggled before turning his attention back to Cole. “What about you? Who’s your artist?”

He rubbed his neck. “As random as their music may seem, I work best to Gorillaz.”

Jay tilted his head thoughtfully before looking back at the screen. “I think I’ll stick with Shrillex. Bangarang was too much fun!”

Cole chuckled, patting Jay’s hair with one hand and closing the laptop with the other. “I gotta head out early today. Need to drop something over at Zane’s.”  
“Ooh, just met the guy and you’re already visiting each other’s houses? What’s next, meeting his family?”

Cole felt his face heat up as he packed the rest of his belongings. “Shut it Kai. He just dropped something is all. The return address is on it so I’m just gonna drop it off.”  
“Uh huh, sure. Just let us know if you plan on spending the night.” “ _Dude_!”

Kai snickered, waving him off. Cole ducked into the back room go give his godfathers a quick goodbye before heading out the front door. He had plugged in Zane’s address into Google Maps earlier and was pleasantly surprised that it was nearby. The fifteen minute walk led him to a large two-story house, which he admired before he went to ring the door bell. When the door swung open, he stepped back in shock. A young man, who easily cleared seven foot, leaned in the doorway. Said young man radiated annoyance and anger, putting Cole on edge. “U-uh, hi,” Cole stuttered. “Does Zane live here?”

——————————————————————————

Echo stared out at the street as Zane continued to examine the vest. To his surprise, someone about their age walked up to their door and rung the bell. He pushed out the window, turning it into a mini balcony, and leaned out. Taking in the guest’s appearance, he let out a whistle. “Damn. Zane c’mere! There’s a hot guy at our doorstep! Looks like he walked right outta Cobra Kai!”

Zane rolled his eyes, finally moving from the mirror. “Fine. Let’s see the guy you’re-” he froze. “Shit.”  
“What?”  
“Cole,” he yelped, speeding out of the door. 

——————————————————————————

“What’s it to ya?”  
“W-well, you see, h-he dropped a notebook in the library and I just wanted to make sure he g-got it back.”  
“Is that so?”  
“Cain!”

The two turned as Zane suddenly appeared at his brother’s side. “Leave him alone. He’s a friend of mine.”

Cain’s threatening aura disappeared in the blink of an eye. “Oh! In that case, come on in!”  
“Don’t mind him, he’s overprotective. But please, do come in.”

Cole nodded, following him inside. He was led into the living room and sat next to Zane on the sofa. “Sorry to intrude. You dropped a journal or something in the library and I wanted to return it to you. Never know what may happen tomorrow, so you should never put off until tomorrow what can be done today.”  
“That is rather insightful.”  
“It’s something my godfather says. It’s a good ideology to have.”  
“Sorry about earlier.”

The teens turned to look at Cain as he walked back into the room. He offered a cup of tea to each. “I guess I was just paranoid, you know? You’re baby brother comes home all beat up and then someone you don’t know shows up at your house.”  
“Cain, stop.”  
“It’s good to know that he’s making friends. That’s always been a struggle of his.”  
“Cain!”  
“You wouldn’t have happened to know what happened today would you?”  
“I did, actually. He had a run-in with the school bully. I’m sure he won’t be a problem in the future.”  
“Oh? And how are you sure?”  
“I’m essentially bully repellent. Turns out taking down a group of bullies by yourself protects you and your circle from them.”  
“You consider me part of your circle?”  
“Of course!”

Cole took a sip from his tea before spitting it back into the cup. “ _Cazzo! Brucia!_ ” 

Zane took his cup from him, noting the scalding temperature. He chugged his own, nearly crying out as he did so, before forming some crushed ice in it. He took some for himself before passing it to Cole, who quickly poured half of it onto his tongue. Zane glared at his brother. “You are _this_ close,” he threatened, moving his fingers to the point that they nearly touched. “To never being allowed in the kitchen.”

Cole chuckled, pouring the rest of his ice into his tea. He took a sip and paused. “So you’re an ice elemental, huh?”  
“Oh. Yes, but at the moment I can only do so much; the shard trick I just demonstrated is the extent of my abilities.” He thought for a moment. “What you said before, ‘ _brucia_ ,’ is Italian, right?”  
“Yeah, something I picked up from my dad I guess.”  
“ _Un linguaggio piuttosto bello da sapere, vero?_ ”

The group turned to the stairs where Echo sat, dangling his legs in between the bars of the banister. Cole gave him a curt nod before looking back at Zane. “Another sibling?”  
“Unfortunately.”  
“Hey!”

Echo observed Cole again before speaking again. “Hey Zane! _Il est mignon. Je vais lui demander si tu ne le fais pas._ ”

“Espèce de garce!” Zane cried, vaulting the couch. “Je vais te tuer!”

Cole watched as Zane chased his brother up the stairs with a fond smile on his face. Cain noticed and cleared his throat, offering Cole his hand. “We haven’t been properly introduced. I’m Cain Julien, Zane’s eldest brother. You are?”  
“Coleton Hence-Brookstone, but everyone calls me Cole.”  
“What are your plans in life, Cole?”  
“I’m currently working a lot with the arts, but I plan on going into woodworking.” “That’s unique. Any reason why?” “I’m an earth elemental. I’m the most comfortable in nature or dealing with it. Plus, I can always keep music as a side gig.” “Alright. How about partner wise?”

Cole shifted a bit in his seat. “I guess someone who can put up with me. I’ve got a lot of emotional baggage and I don’t ever wanna put someone through that if they can’t handle it. But otherwise, I’d want someone who’s smart and kind, sweet with a sharp tongue. Preferably someone who’s okay with a lot of physical contact but I wouldn’t mind reigning it in for him.”  
“Him, huh?”  
“Uh, yeah. I’m gay.”  
“Cool. Don’t worry, our dad’s the only cishet in the house.”  
“Okay, cool.”  
“And I couldn’t help but notice that you described a certain someone.”  
“W-well-”  
“Zane is available as far as I know, but it is in your best interest to treat him well. The football team calls me Juggernaut for a reason.”  
“Yes sir.”

Cain smiled at him. “Then we have nothing to worry about.” Grabbing his wallet, he moved next to him. “Check these out.”

Zane came downstairs to the sight of his brother and new friend huddled around something. He leaned over them before his face lit up in a blush. He snatched the wallet just as Cain was about to move onto another picture. “Cain! What the hell!”  
“Cole and I got bored waiting for you to finish murdering Echo so I decided to bring up some of our best Halloween costumes.”  
“I thought your Foxy costume was amazing! I couldn’t even see the seams!”  
“I’ll help you if you ever want to make a complex cosplay.”  
“Really? I really appreciate that!”

“Right! So,” Zane interrupted, pulling the vest off. “This is yours.”  
“Oh yeah. Let me get your notebook.”

The teens traded their belongings and Cole pulled his vest back on. Cain checked the time before leaping out of his chair. “Fuck, the macaroni!”

Zane rolled his eyes pulling out his phone. “I’ll order pizza.” He looked at Cole. “Would you like to stay for dinner?”  
“Sorry, gotta get home before it starts getting dark. People tend to be on edge when a ‘darker skinned individual’ is walking around at sundown. Kai and Nya are gonna be worried.”  
“Kai and Nya?”  
“Yeah, they’ve been living with me since middle school. It’s like having siblings.”

Cain wandered back into the room, smelling like burnt noodles. “Do you need a ride? I can drop you off and pick up pizza.”  
“Yes please.”  
“Great! Lemme just grab my keys.”

Cain walked back into the kitchen while Zane placed an order. The elder walked back into the room spinning his keys on his index finger. “Let’s go!”

As Zane automatically made his way to the backseat, Cain slipped Cole a slip of paper. Sitting in the passenger seat, Cole glanced at it before adding the two phone numbers to his contacts. A few minutes of directions later, the trio arrived at Cole’s house. The brothers couldn’t hide their surprise as Cole hopped out of the car. “This is it! Thanks for the ride!”  
“Yeah. Sure. No problem.”  
“Thank you for my journal.”  
“My pleasure! Feel free to drop by sometime, yeah?”

With that, Cole started making his way up the driveway, throwing a casual wave over his shoulder. He watched the car leave as he waited for the garage to lift enough for him to slip under. When the car was gone and the door was high enough, he slipped in, closing it behind him. He walked through his and Kai’s makeshift workshop and through the door leading into the main building. “I’m back!”  
“Where were you? You said he lived nearby.”  
“Did you get kidnapped again?”  
“Nah. Lost track of time at Zane’s house. Met his brothers.”  
“How’d that go?”

Cole shrugged. “Got a shovel talk from the Juggernaut. That was fun.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I did include the Hankie code. It’s been something that I’ve seen in my school district since middle school, so I felt it wouldn’t be too far off for high schoolers to know or use it.
> 
> Translations:  
> Cazzo! Brucia! - Fuck! Hot!  
> Un linguaggio piuttosto bello da sapere, vero? - Pretty cool language to know, right?  
> Il est mignon. Je vais lui demander si tu ne le fais pas. - He's cute. I'm going to ask him out if you don't.  
> Espèce de garce!... Je vais te tuer! - You Bitch!...I’m going to kill you!

**Author's Note:**

> Feel free to interact with me on Tumblr (dummydamidraws, dummydamirambles or dummydamiwrites).


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